Propst: Post story about Trump gala is troubling

Minority leader Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan) labeled as “extremely troubling” a recent Palm Beach Post story alleging thousands of dollars that were raised at the Asian Pacific American Presidential Inaugural Gala—one of the inauguration balls of President Donald J. Trump in January 2017—ending up untraced.

The event reportedly raised $107 million in donations from individuals and corporate contributions but what made the event controversial, as reported by Post, was there’s no paper trail on the money collected and it could not be found.

Among the corporate donors that dropped as much as $25,000 is Saipan casino investor Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC, with the Republican Party of Guam also contributing the same amount as sponsors.

Lobbyist Jason Osborne, who helped in lobbying for the passage and signing into law of the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act last year, was also mentioned as among the chief organizers of the event. He is also a former campaign aide of Trump.

Propst said the incident is akin to the CNMI’s case when it got tangled up with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff during the garment factory days.

“This is extremely troubling. What an embarrassment to the Commonwealth. We are having flashbacks of Jack Abramoff. When will we ever learn? It seems laws do not exist when it comes to the rich and powerful,” he said.

Propst plans to urge House Speaker Blas Jonathan T. Attao (R-Saipan) and his colleagues in the House of Representatives to consider conducting an oversight hearing on this matter.

He added that Osborne is being paid by public funds as the CNMI government’s representative in Washington, D.C., while also employed as the lobbyist for the Northern Marianas Business Alliance Corp. Osborne is also the executive director of the local GOP here.

“[Osborne] has many intersecting and overlapping interests and I have serious doubts about his ability to represent the Commonwealth’s best interests as well. And, frankly, I think we should scrutinize all of his lobbyist filings and see what else he may have omitted,” Propst said.

The other sponsorship packages for the APA Presidential gala was Platinum ($10,000), Gold ($5,000), and Elite ($2,500).

Philip Mendiola-Long of Bridge Investment Group LLC and Elaine Cruz Jones of Jones and Guerrero Co. Inc. were among the platinum sponsors from Saipan, along with the Chinese Americans for Trump Movement’s Ben and King Tang, P.H.R. Ken Micronesia Inc., and Guam Shipyard’s Matthew Pothen.

Elaine Jones & Family, Lee Properties, Kaji & Associates, Lisa Shin of the Korean-Americans for Trump and Derek Uejara of Uehara Financial Group LLC were the gold sponsors, while elite donors were Earl Wong, Claire Reiss, Calvo Fisher & Jacob LLP Attorneys at Law, Universal Chinese Publishing House, Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Guam, and former Docomo Pacific chief executive officer Jonathan Kriegel.

IPI has yet to respond to Saipan Tribune inquiries as of press time.